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Atelier Cologne comes to Canada to whisk us away

The 'Cologne Absolue' collection by Atelier Cologne.

Photograph by: Handout/Retailer
, Atelier Cologne

Film is an excellent alternative means of travel when purchasing a flight to far off destinations is financially infeasible. Italy was my dream to see, but three hours with Fellini was my sole experience for a very long time. By the time I did actually set foot in Venice, Florence and Rome, I travelled with recollections that preceded my observances. And afterwards, I nearly sentimentalized my daydreams as much – or perhaps even more – than my fond memories themselves. There is so much romance wrapped up in daydreams; the fantasy of being far away from reality.

Christophe Cervasel and Sylvie Ganter felt the same way while crafting their collection of Cologne Absolutes, five essential-oil based fragrances by Atelier Cologne that whisk the wearer away to places like a breakfast table filled with family on the coast of Southern Italy and a young lady's apartment in France, as she prepares for a romantic rendezvous with her beau. Christophe and Sylvie created their collection of five colognes – Orange Sanguine, Grand Néroli, Bois Blonds, Trèfle Pur and Oolang Infini – to create a moment by surrounding you in essence and in experience, much like a vacation away can do.

Experience is what precedes the quintet of Cologne Absolue. Before meeting one another, the husband and wife co-creators of Atelier each spent nearly twenty years working with fragrance – her at Hèrmes and he at Kenzo. And, as Christophe describes it, “we love fragrance forever.” For Sylvie, her love affair began at the age 10 with Eau d'Orange Verte by Hèrmes because of its classical, citrusy connotations, and Christophe eventually fell for the same cologne once he had turned 13. When the two met in adulthood, they combined their mutual love of cologne and years of experience with fragrance, then added a dash of entrepreneurial spirit to concoct a new class of cologne that counteracts the more robust, flowery and commonplace perfumes that often overstock store shelves today.

Cologne isn't what you may think it is. In North America, we often mistake cologne as masculine and perfume as feminine. As Christophe explained to me, a scent's title refers to the concentrated percentage of essential oil within its blend. More specifically, Eau de Cologne has the lowest concentration of essential oil in its final formula, weighing in at four to five per cent. An Eau de Toilette has five to ten per cent, Eau de Parfum is ten to eighteen per cent, and what we call Parfum, or Extrait in French, around eighteen per cent concentration. Atelier Cologne is even more robust than that, with essential oils climbing to twenty per cent concentration.

The reason why the world's inhabitants wear fragrance, however, is universal: to smell good!

Traditionally, though, in France, fragrance is about smelling fresh. Here in North America, our preferred perfumes are much bolder, or “striking,” as Christophe described them with kindness. We also tend to assign a gender to our scent, which doesn't really make sense. After all, women and men are biologically different enough for our fragrances to need not require the obvious division. Even the ‘unisex’ perfumes, like Calvin Klein's infamous 'One', are unnecessarily gender-free. The Atelier colognes are gender neutral and attractive on both men and women because, when applied, they smell equally fantastic – yet different – on both sex.

Male skin generally produces more oil and female skin is often warmer in temperature - both those factors affect how a scent is received. 'Orange Sanguin', for example, has notes of sandalwood that are especially noticeable on a male's skin and less so on females. On women, you're more likely to smell bitter orange whereas on men, you'll smell a sweeter aura of blood orange. Scent is personal, but not because you bought it that way – your body manages your uniqueness all on its own.

With only two brick-and-mortar stores, in New York City and in Paris, digital distribution is essential for Atelier Cologne. Approximately 25,000 stores sell luxury fragrance worldwide but Christophe and Sylvie selected only 250 locations within Europe and the North America to sell their scents. “We are having an opposite distribution plan to the big brands. We don't want to be everywhere so we carefully select the stores in which we want to be retailed”, Christophe admitted. For Canadian fragrance enthusiasts, Atelier Cologne has selected ebeauty.ca to e-retail their collection of cologne, soaps and candles.

On our wish list is Vanille Insensée Cologne Absolue Spray ($190 at ebeauty.ca) a sensual scent which weaves notes of lime and coriander through its spicy vanilla basenotes. Christophe said he and Sylvie modelled it following their move from New York back to Paris, in preparation for the birth of their baby daughter. “It’s all about energy - the big city and the fact that after the work, you take a shower, and go out. It's your second life.” Actually, that sounds like a dream life - I'll take one bottle, please.

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